Rigid airship



Nov. 11, 1930. C BURNEY ET AL RIGID AIRSHIP Filed Aug. 19, 1927 M 0W, DWI 6M Patented Nov. 11, 1930 UNITED SEPT-S arena" CHARLES DENNISTON BUBNEY, BARNES NEVILLE WALLIS, NEVIL SI-IU'IE NORWAY, AND JOHN EDWIN TEIIIPLE, OF WESaTIfliNfiTER, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS T0 AIBSHIP GUARANTEE COTViPANY, LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY RIGID AIRSHIP Application filed August 19,1927, Serial No. 214,036, and in Great Britain September 17, 1926.

This invention relates to rigid airships the ob ect of the invention being to avoid torsion in the transverse frames and/or bending frames.

.Each transverse frame is usually provided with a system of internal bracing wires (hereinafter termed the bulkhead wiring) which extend transversely across the frame and which interconnect the corners of the polygon. When a gas bag becomes deflated, the contiguous bag or bags tend to protrude laterally into the space formerly occupied by the deflated bag thus bringing considerable end pressure to bear on the bulkhead wiring and thereby setting up stresses which interfere with the stability of the transverse frames, and/ or which may also set up a bending moment in the longitudinal girders.

According to the present invention the parts of a rigid airship are'so constructed or. arranged that when in deflated gas bag condition (due to one or more of the gas bags becoming deflated) the setting up of stresses,

other than a direct compressional stress, in the transverse frames, due to the axial component of theend pressure on the bulkhead wiring, is avoided. To this end, and in cases where circumstances permit, such as is the case when the transverse frame is, forexample, of rectangular, polygonal or like space frame cross section,'or of triangular cross section with the apex pointing outwards, the line of action of the bulkhead wiring can be arranged to passthrough the neutral axis of the transverse frame members, by making the necessary connections to the neutral axes of the said frame members, thus allowing the bulkhead wiring to move freely about the neutral axis of the transverse frame members.

In such circumstances there will be no torpressure of the protruding gas bag on the bulkhead wiring. v

Furthermore, and if the neutral axes of both the longitudinal girders and the transverse frame members are so arranged that they are coincident, i. e. by constructing the girders and the frame members in such a manner that their neutral axes coincide and by connecting the bulkhead wiring thereto at the points where the'neutral axesof the transverse frame members and the longitudinal girders are coincident, the line of action will also pass through the neutral axis of the longitudinal girder so that there will be no bending moment set up in the longitudinal girder.

It is not, however, always possible to establish the aforesaid conditions. For example, in cases where the transverse frame members are of triangular cross section with the apex pointing inwards. In such cases the ends of the bulkhead wires may be attached bymeans wiring to the transverse frame memberscan I I be resolved into two components, viz., a radial component actlng 1n the plane of the transverse frame (1. e. transversely of the ship) and an axial component (i. e. acting axially of the ship). The axial component in the deflated bag condition sets up or tends to set up torsion in the transverse frame members which torsion, in cases where the'longitudinal girder-sand transverse frame members are rigidly interconnected, may in turn set up a bending moment in the longitudinal girders I 1 To counteract this torsional component connections are madeto the circumferential mesh wiring (which surrounds each gas bag) from each point of attachment of the bulk head Wiring to the transverse vframe. mem- 7 Y here, for example by means of strop s. I Conmade equal and opposite to the axial comp 7 "contains the deflated bag Will be slack. It

sequently a-nd When a bag becomes deflated the force in the strop or other connectionto the circumferential mesh iring of the contiguous bag which remains inflated can be nent above referred to by suitably designing the circumferential mesh Wiring of each gas bag i. e. by varying the angle of the circumferential mesh iring relatively to the axislof the ship, as described in our Patent No. 1,658,821. It will be understood that under these conditions the strop or other connection tothe circumferential mesh wiring ofthe gas bag in the bag or section which willalso be appreciated that Whenboth the sal f Contiguous gas bags are nflated the ax s 'force n the connections between'each pair of strops and the circumferential mesh iring I the transverse frame. e

of the said contiguous bags Willneutralize each other at ea'chpoint of attachment to i In order tha-tthe said inventionmay-be clearly understood and readily carried into effect the same Will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawing; in which V I F gurefl' 'sho'ivs' diagrammatically the 1 approximate position of the bulkhead iring deflated bag condition, as also {that of 'the strops by means of which the bulkhead vWiring is; attached to the circumferential mesh wir ng.

I mate positionfof the bulkhead Wiringfand Qthestrops under normal conditions whentwo contiguous gas bags arefully inflated. V 1 Figure 3 is apartly diagrammatic perspect ve view'showing in greater detail the posleach contiguous' pairfof gas bags, and D, 'D are the strops which connect the bulkhead V frame'niembersB areof'triangular'crossseciththe apex point ng' nvvards andjthewiring 4G "to vthei' circumferential mesh; wiring In; the example illustra ted the transverse p of the bulkn'e dlwiring are"attached neans of catenaries c to points equi;

' lfifiibllj', these pointsiofattachment inthe embodiment shoyv'nat Figure being effected at theeapex of the transverse framememq I 7 V bers' at the po nt Where'thetransverseframe members are, intersected by the longitudinal girders (not 'shoWn'), Underthes'e' circum 'stances ztheilinejefection of the bulkhead t ri g d es; not, 7 pass, throu h; h neutral Letters Patent of the United States is :V

Figure 2 is a view illustrating the approximtjapa' a aroundthe"transversefframe i -NEVILSHUTE NGRNVAY.

axis of the transverse frame members When the bulkhead Wires C are deflected out of the plane "of the transverse frame by pressure of the fully inflated gas'b-ag in the bayor section next to that containing a deflated gas bag andto counteract the torsional compow nent whichis set up the strcps D and D are provided. In the example illustrated" the circumferential mesh Wiring is also provided With catenaries the ends 67 e of Which are attached to the strop D,the ends a, e of the catenary 6- in a contiguous bay being attached to the same point 0 on the transverse frame by means of the strop D V In the ex'amp'le'shown the circumferential mesh iring is of the type described in Pa ;tent'No. 1,658,821, While the bulkhead iring 0 is'provided Witha system of tight and application Serial. No; 2145328, filed August the bulkh'ead'wiring andc c' are the tight radial Wires of the bulkhead Wiring. D D

are jack stays, formingp'art of thefcircun ferential mesh wiring E and Which connect I the ends or" the strops D,'D to the, corerespondingstrops on the next transverse] frame members. 1 What 'Weclann and desire to secure; by

l. A rigidfairship comprising in combi-i natlonlongitudinal glrders and transverse frame members, bulkhead Wiring connected tot-he said members, circumferential mesh v wiring and 'strops connectingsaid circumferential mesh -W1r-1ng to? sa d members at 1 each 1301115 o f attachment of-said bulkhead '2 In a rigid airship; thei'combinationof transverse frame members of triangular slack radial Wiresas described in'co-pending v 30, 1927. 0 0 are'theslack radial Wires of 7 cross-section with their api'ces pointing in we rdly and longitudinal girders so arranged relatively to said transversemembers that their neutral axesintersect, bulkhead Wiring connected to the internal periphery of each,

'i'transversfe member at 7 points such that when the said Wiring is'lyin'g within the plane of 1 said transverse member the nrolo'n atio'n'of the directionof each Wire fpassesthrough one of the points of ntersection of said axes;

with circumferential mesh Wirin'g'connected to the transverse frame" n1embers at each. W

wiringi.

cn in iis nnmns roii BURNEYI} BARNES NEVILLE WALLIS.- i a.

. JQHN. EDWIN TEMPLE;

point'fotjtheir attachment to thelbulkl'ead 

